He was going to disregard the warning; he was going out alone; and nobody knew what was hanging over his head! Here was a fool of fools, a pretty fellow to assist. Much good that warning had done.
Geoffrey rose to his feet.
"And now I must go," he said. "Still, I hope to come again."
The door closed, and she was alone. Hardly had he departed before a dark figure in a white robe crept out of the gloom of the garden into the room. Mrs. May looked at the ragged looking stranger fixedly.
"Who are you, and whence do you come?" she asked in her native tongue.
The man salaamed almost to the ground.
"I am Ben Heer, your slave," he said, "and I bring you great news."
"Oh!" Mrs. May said slowly; "and so you have come at last."